Filing Your Income Tax Returns

Confused about whether you need to file your return of income or not? Read on.

KEY POINTS:

• There is no general exemption for individuals earning less than Rs 500000 from filing their return of income. Such individuals need not file their return only in case of certain stipulated conditions.
• The conditions for exemption notwithstanding, an assessee would need to file his/her return of income for the relevant assessment year where a notice for the same has been issued under Section 142(1) or Section 148 or Section 153A or Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Q) My income is less than Rs 500000 and falls under the head ‘Salaries’. Am I exempt from filing my return of income?

– Muzaffar Alam

Reply –

There is no general exemption from filing of return of income for persons earning less than Rs 500000. Such individuals need not file their return only in case of the following conditions:

a) An individual whose total income for the relevant assessment year does not exceed Rs 5 lakh and consists only of income chargeable to income tax under the following heads,–

(A)  ‘Salaries’;
(B)  ‘Income from other sources’, by way of interest from a savings account in a bank, not exceeding ten thousand rupees.

b) Besides, the following conditions need to be fulfilled, viz. the individual referred to in para 1, –

(i) Has reported to the employer his/her Permanent Account Number (PAN);
(ii) Has reported to his/her employer, the incomes mentioned in sub-para (B) of para 1 and the employer has deducted the tax thereon;
(iii) Has received a certificate of tax deduction in Form 16 from his/her employer which mentions the PAN, details of income and the tax deducted at source and deposited to the credit of the Central Government;
(iv) Has discharged his/her total tax liability for the assessment year through tax deduction at source and its deposit by the employer to the Central Government;
(v) Has no claim of refund of taxes due to him/her for the income of the assessment year; and
(vi) Has received salary from only one employer for the assessment year.

c) The exemption from the requirement of furnishing a return of income tax shall not be available where a notice under Section 142(1) or Section 148 or Section 153A or Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 has been issued for filing return of income for the relevant assessment year.